Did anyone else hear The Leevees on npr the other day? They've written a bunch of new songs for Hanukah. Sounded great. You can read more about them and watch a video they made about how in the heck Hanukah is really supposed to be spelled. Just CLICK HERE.

Voyager, I can pretty much promise you that if I sang this parody at a Jewish retirement residence there would be some complaints because it's to the tune of a "Christmas song" and maybe even a couple because it's to a German tune. Of course, younger audiences would probably not react that way.

Seasoned Greetings to the Mudcat Community of Warblers, Musicologists, Old Folkies, Cyber-songsters and such. Please enjoy this Seasonal Song (reprised for 2007 with the right number of Festival Lights!) - a joyful noise guaranteed to amuse some, offend some, and typically, be ignored by many.

Since the Xmas parody thread has such a following, I thought I'd start a parallel conversation (just to get some notice)!

A menorah is a candelabrum. The one that was given to Moses had seven branches. That's the one depicted on the Arch of Titus in Rome, which illustrates the sacking of the Temple in Jerusalem in 71. The nine-candle candelabrum used for the festival of Chanukah is technically a chanukiah. I'm finding it hard to imagine that Israel acknowledges on less day of miracle than the Diaspora.

On the other hand, dreidels in Israel have a different acronym than those in the rest of the world: A Great Miracle Happened Here, as opposed to a Great Miracle Happened There.

חנוכה is eight candles (plus the one you light 'em from) whether in Israel or the diaspora. Our menorah that we just made the other day is two hands of clay, with the thumbs overlapping. My wife found the instructions on some website for Jewish kids' craft projects.

I like your song, voyager, though I would call the tune "O Maryland" or "O Lutefisk" to stave off the complaints about Christmas and the Germans that someone mentioned.

Kwanzaa's right around the corner, and it uses candelabra, too. It also needs good new songs.